Illinois Senate President John Cullerton said budget cuts to the state Historic Preservation Agency should be restored as soon as lawmakers return to Springfield.

By Doug FinkeState Capitol Bureau

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton said budget cuts to the state Historic Preservation Agency should be restored as soon as lawmakers return to Springfield.

Speaking to The State Journal-Register editorial board, Cullerton said he didn't agree with making cuts to the agency budget, but a spending plan had to get approved in the closing hours of the session.

“The Historic Preservation Agency budget has to be restored,” said Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat. “That has to be done as soon as we get back. We should not close any historic sites. In the big picture, we can afford it.”

About $1.1 million was cut from the historic sites section of the agency's budget, spokesman Chris Wills said. That represents a 19 percent reduction.

There are various options that could be employed to cope with the cuts, including reduced hours, closures or layoffs of staff.

“No decisions have been made yet,” Wills said. “We're trying to figure out different scenarios for how this can be handled. Nothing has been ruled out, but nothing has been decided either.”

Cullerton was lukewarm to the idea of charging admissions to state historic sites as a way of generating revenue.

“I think you should get as many people to come as possible,” Cullerton said. “If there is a nominal fee you can collect and not affect attendance, OK, find whatever that number is.”

Wills said the agency has looked at admission fees in the past and one concern raised was that it would cut attendance.

“Free admission is a real selling point for us,” Wills said. “(Admissions fees) might have a serious impact.”

The agency does encourage visitors to make donations at historic sites. Last year, those donations raised $521,000.

Cullerton said he thinks the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum “could really grow if it has some more independence.”

“I'm open for ways to do that and for it to flourish,” he said.

“How” is the question.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, proposed separating the library and museum from Historic Preservation and making it its own state agency. It passed the House but was not called for a vote in the Senate.

“The idea the speaker has floated of it being independent is not in and of itself a bad idea,” Cullerton said, while also noting “most other libraries are affiliated with universities.”

Which one “would depend on the relationship between the university and the museum,” he said.

Cullerton acknowledged the recently passed state budget does not allocate enough money for all state expenses because it assumes a portion of the temporary income tax hike will expire Jan. 1 as scheduled.

“It's not a secret. We need more revenue,” said Cullerton, who supports making the temporary tax hike permanent.

He criticized Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner for still not detailing how he would deal with the state's budget problems. Rauner opposes making the income tax hike permanent but has not revealed his plan for dealing with the lost revenue.

“Rauner has not said what he would do,” Cullerton said. “It's particularly relevant for him because he expects to be governor in this fiscal year. It's his budget. If he's got $1.6 billion in cuts, let us know what they are. But of course he's not.”

“John Cullerton has spent years protecting the failed status quo in state government and failing to make structural reforms,” Schrimpf said. “It's no surprise he's now sticking up for a failed politician like (Gov.) Pat Quinn.”

Cullerton defended the legislature's decision to stop taking unpaid furlough days after five years. It will result in lawmakers collecting at least $3,100 more in salary next year.

The decision actually sprang from Quinn's move last year to cut lawmaker salaries from the budget because they didn't pass pension reform during the spring session. Cullerton and Madigan went to court saying Quinn couldn't do that. Quinn's lawyers argued it could be done because the legislature was already cutting its members' salaries through furloughs.

The courts ruled against Quinn. Given that, Cullerton said, lawmakers couldn't then turn around and continue unpaid furloughs.

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